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The Miracle Match
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by Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Sales Rank: 5556
Price: $14.99
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In the spirit of REMEMBER THE TITANS, MIRACLE, and THE ROOKIE, THE MIRACLE MATCH is the incredible story about the men behind one of the all-time greatest upsets in sports history. Two weeks before the 1950 World Cup, a ragtag group of recreational soccer players from St. Louis and New York were chosen to represent the USA in Brazil. Consumed with conflicts ? personal, cultural, and playing styles ? they had mere days to become a team. And then they had to play the British, the best team in the world. Inspired by a newfound belief in the team, their passion and talent turned into pure magic on the field ? and the unthinkable happened. Filled with heart-stopping action, and featuring Patrick Stewart, this triumphant story is a rousing celebration of the human spirit, love of the sport, and pride of country.
Viewer Reviews
My title line should not be a spoiler: "Can we do it? Yes, we can!" If so, the movie title is a spoiler: "The Miracle Team"! What do "miracle teams" do? They come from the underdog position to win!
The cobbled team of St. Louis-New York players won the World Cup in the 1950 Championship game against the world's best team and best player in a 1-0 victory. How did it happen? How could this major sports upset even conceivably take place? After try-outs, two weeks of practice, and personal, ethnic, religious, and regional clashes of differences, the team finally jelled, even during the game for this sports coup.
Do you know the applied meanings of Apollonian and Dionysian styles of doing things? The New York team was Apollonian--structured, intellectual, controlled. The St. Louis team, comprised of Italians from the famous Hill area, was Dionysian (think god of wine)--loose, fun-loving, instantaneous.
The two styles were a major conflict. New York was led by a man of German-descent, Walter Bahr (some of these men from St. Louis had served in World War II). St. Louis's leader, Frank Gorghi, was the go-to guy in leaving words of wisdom and guidance, while Walter was a cool, calculating, but also wise leader. The two were able to work together and make the team eventually click. Going against the manager's decision, they went as a unified front to convince Joe Gaetjens, an African player attending school in America, a natural athlete, and later the soul of the team, to play.
Breaking elements down:
PRO:
1. Considering that the movie was made by the same people making HOOSIERS and RUDY, both exciting sports movies, this movie was criticized for lacking that same excitement. I found the championship game most exciting and was on my feet cheering most of the time!
2. A major point is that the story was made into a movie enjoyable to watch, good for a family entertainment. Maybe another group later can remake it to include what other reviewers saw as weaknesses.
3. Only two actors' names stand out (Gerard Butler and Patrick Stewart). I liked the use of little known or unknown actors. It makes the viewer not single out favorites to watch. I know Gerard Butler is getting to be a big name now, but not at the time the movie was made.
4. The film looks professional. It is not an embarrassment for the celebration of this major American sports event or the players.
CONS
1. Lack of character development. There was enough for the viewer to get a working knowledge of each one's background or some little aspect of his character, but not enough.
2. What happened to the players after this major game? Viewers always want this information just out of curiosity. Did the game change them? Not change them?
3. One reviewer criticized the use of the sports reporter narrating part of the story to give background and explanations. This technique is not an uncommon use of characters. I saw nothing wrong with it. It gave a Greek chorus kind of narration.
Overall, "The Miracle Match" is a highly satisfying movie. I watched it a second time recently and discovered to my major surprise that I immensely enjoyed the movie much more this time. At the first viewing, I was not really into watching soccer.
This is a great movie to watch on July 4th, or in celebration of the American spirit to win at all odds, just like the revolutionists did in 1776. That was a miracle match, as are the teams in this movie. Both times the Americans defeated the British!
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The Miracle Match
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